Analysis of the skeletal remains of an affluent young woman who lived in Tuscany some 2,000 years ago shows that celiac disease has existed since ancient times — as has the practice of avoiding certain foods.

The woman's remains were found in an ancient tomb at the Cosa archaeological site on the Tuscan coast in Italy. Based on the archaeological evidence, she was quite wealthy and would have had access to all sorts of food. She was only about 18 to 20 years old when she died.

But her bones showed the tell-tale signs of malnutrition and osteoporosis, both indicators of untreated celiac disease, a condition characterized by a severe allergic reaction to gluten in the intestinal lining (typically ingested via wheat-based food products). Many of her bones were eroded at the tips, and she stood just 4 feet, 7 inches tall (140 cm).

What's more, DNA evidence adds credence to the theory; she carried two copies of an immune system gene variant associated with celiac disease — the exact same variant found in people living today with celiac.

To determine if the woman altered her diet, [the researchers] analysed carbon and nitrogen isotopes in her bones, which tend to relate to food intake. The chemicals cannot reconstruct a person's diet perfectly but instead paint broad brushstrokes of the consumption of foods such as plants, meats, freshwater fish and seafood. They can also indicate whether an individual consumed foods that were different from others.

Scorrano and his team found that the young woman would have consumed more meat and possibly freshwater fish and fewer plants than did people living in the area in the sixth century and medieval times. Carbon and nitrogen levels in her bones were also distinct from those in most other inhabitants from the Imperial Roman period previously sampled, but similar to those in bones from an early Christian burial site in Rome, where individuals may have favoured freshwater fish.